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Mount Vernon resident Tony Clark, age 39, was sentenced to a term of 16 years to life in prison for starting two separate fires at his former partner’s apartment on Franklin Avenue, during a standoff, causing the entire building to become uninhabitable.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that Clark previously pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted arson, a violent felony. She noted that Clark had previously been designated as a “persistent violent felony offender.”
Between Wednesday, July 22, 2020, and Thursday, July 23, 2020, Clark allegedly flattened the tires of his victim’s car, threatened her with a knife, and damaged her vehicle before breaking into her apartment, stealing her phone and cash, police said.
Then, at approximately 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2020, prosecutors said that Clark broke into her apartment again with the intention of assaulting her.
According to Rocah, Clark used lighter fluid to start two separate fires in each bedroom inside the victim’s Mount Vernon apartment.
Police said that upon arrival, the officers found that Clark had locked himself inside his girlfriend’s apartment during the argument, and refused to open the door.
While attempting to gain access to the apartment, the officers noticed smoke coming from under the door, at which point Emergency Service Unit officers made entry into the apartment and apprehended Clark without further incident.
During that incident, prosecutors also said that Clark’s ex’s child attempted to call police, at which point he forcibly took the phone away, leaving the child with a scratch on the face in the process.
The entire building, which contained multiple apartments, was evacuated due to the fire, and Mount Vernon Police removed Clark from the apartment and arrested him. The building sustained extensive damage during the incident and has since been condemned.
Nearly three dozen families were displaced due to the domestic incident.
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